Express Scripts Holding (ESRX) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Express Scripts Holding (NASDAQ:ESRX) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 20,899,812 shares, a decrease of 9.1% from the January 12th total of 22,990,876 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,388,271 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.8 days. Currently, 3.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

In other news, VP Christine Houston sold 10,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.08, for a total value of $708,088.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 87,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,124,992. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Glen D. Stettin sold 3,448 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total value of $262,048.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,001 shares of company stock valued at $1,249,505 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Express Scripts by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,536,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. National Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Express Scripts by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. National Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. San Francisco Sentry Investment Group CA grew its position in shares of Express Scripts by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. San Francisco Sentry Investment Group CA now owns 4,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $286,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Express Scripts by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 6,140 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Express Scripts by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,336 shares of the company’s stock worth $515,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 87.86% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised Express Scripts from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 31st. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Express Scripts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on shares of Express Scripts and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Express Scripts from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Finally, SunTrust Banks reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Express Scripts in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.23.

Shares of Express Scripts (NASDAQ ESRX) opened at $71.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41,540.00, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.93. Express Scripts has a 52-week low of $55.80 and a 52-week high of $83.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86.

Express Scripts announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback 45,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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Express Scripts Company Profile

Express Scripts, Inc is a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company in North America, offering a range of services to its clients, which include health insurers, third-party administrators, employers, union-sponsored benefit plans, workers’ compensation plans and government health programs. It operates in two segments: PBM and Emerging Markets (EM).